The Newest Princess
by Niagara14301
Summary: King Roland and Queen Miranda step in when a tragedy hits Sofia's friend Lucinda.


The Newest Princess - a Sofia the First fanfic

**The Newest Princess**

Note: this is a story set in the future during Sofia's young teenage years. Please be aware that the story has a sad undertone.

**Chapter One**

Enchancia was usually a very happy place. However, Enchancia also experienced the occassioinal dark time. And the past few weeks had been one of those dark times. A mysterious illness had spread through the land, and before a cure could be found, a number of people in Enchancia had died from it ... including Lucinda's parents. Lucinda was now alone. Her grandparents had passed away a few years earlier, and she had no other living relatives.

King Roland had been given the news about Lucinda, and he was determined not to let her languish in some orphanage. Lucinda was a good friend to Sofia, and had become a good friend to the entire royal family. So it came as no surprise when King Roland and Queen Miranda, without hesitation, decided immediately to adopt Lucinda and make her a part of the family.

Two days later, Roland and Miranda traveled by royal carriage to the village of Dunwitty. Once in the village, they went to Ruby's house. Ruby's mother, Helen, had taken in Lucinda while Roland and Miranda had made arrangements for Lucinda's adoption. Helen knew Lucinda from Lucinda's friendship with Ruby and Jade.

Helen greeted Roland and Miranda at the door.

"How is Lucinda holding up, Helen?" Miranda asked.

"She's sadder than I've ever seen anybody in my life" Helen answered. "Her whole world is gone".

At that point, a 14-year-old Lucinda slowly appeared behind Helen.

"Hello, Lucinda" Roland said. He could see the pain in Lucinda's eyes, and he walked over and gave her a gentle hug, trying his best to comfort her during this difficult time.

"Do you have your items packed, Lucinda?" Helen asked.

"Yes, ma'am" Lucinda replied.

Roland motioned to the coachman. "Please put Lucinda's suitcases on the carriage".

"Yes, your Highness" the coachman answered.

"It was nice having you here, Lucinda" Helen remarked while giving Lucinda a hug. "Is that everything?"

"Just one last thing, ma'am" Lucinda replied as she walked over to her broom which was sitting on the front porch. Lucinda then outstretched her arm and commanded "UP!" to the broom. The broom immediately flew into Lucinda's hand. Watching this, Roland thought of Sofia and how Sofia was now majoring in sorcery at Royal Prep. Roland had seen Sofia do the same thing with her broom back at the castle.

"Ready?" Roland asked Lucinda.

"Yes, sir" Lucinda answered.

Roland, Miranda, and Lucinda climbed into the royal carriage as Helen, Ruby and Jade looked on from the front porch. In the carriage, Lucinda sat next to Miranda as Miranda put her arm around Lucinda. Lucinda then leaned against Miranda a little bit. Miranda then gave Lucinda a tender kiss on the forehead. "Let's go home, sweetheart" Miranda said to Lucinda in a comforting way.

The royal carriage arrived at the castle where Sofia, Amber, James, and Baileywick were waiting. Roland and Miranda got off, and then Roland helped Lucinda off of the carriage. At that point, a 14-year-old Sofia approached Lucinda and the two hugged.

"How are you doing?" Sofia asked Lucinda in a concerned and caring tone of voice.

"I'm hanging in there ... I think" Lucinda answered in a sad tone of voice while trying to be brave at the same time.

"Baileywick" Roland gently commanded. "Make sure Lucinda's belongings are taken to her room".

"At once, King Roland" Baileywick responded as he looked at Lucinda, feeling so very sorry for Lucinda's recent loss.

**Chapter Two**

Sofia, Miranda, and Baileywick walked Lucinda to her room in the castle. As Baileywick opened the doors, Lucinda stared in disbelief. "Surly this can't be my room?" Lucinda thought. "Somebody must have made a mistake. This room is for royalty".

"Here's is your room, Lucinda" Baileywick announced.

"This is ... for me?" Lucinda asked.

"Yes, Lucinda" Miranda replied.

Lucinda walked around the room, totally amazed.

"Your larger belongings from your home will arrive this afternoon, Lucinda" Baileywick said as he gently put his hand on Lucinda's shoulder.

As Lucinda looked around the room, she suddenly noticed her broom hanging from a very fancy custom made broom holder that had been mounted on the wall.

"That was King Roland's idea" Baileywick said to Lucinda. "He knows how important your broom is to you ..."

"...and" Miranda added, "he, and I, and all of us wanted to give it a special place to be hung when it's not in use".

"Thank you" Lucinda said in a very appreciative tone of voice.

"Your welcome" Miranda said while giving Lucinda a gentle hug. "We'll let you settle in. If you need anything, just ring the bell on the wall and somebody will come immediately. See you at dinner, Lucinda".

As Miranda and Baileywick left the room, Sofia walked over to Lucinda.

"This is ... so much ... to take in" Lucinda said.

"I know what you mean" Sofia replied. "I felt the same way my first day here. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I think I'll be fine" Lucinda answered. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a little rest."

"Of course, Lucinda" Sofia said while giving Lucinda a hug. "See you at dinner".

As Sofia left the room, Lucinda sat down on the bed. Then, she heard a knock at the door.

"Lucinda?" King Roland asked. "May I come in?"

"Yes, please".

Roland sat down on the bed next to Lucinda. "I want to give you something, Lucinda. I was looking through the royal jewel room, and I came across this" as he handed Lucinda a large, dark blue jewel box.

Lucinda opened the box to find an amulet that was almost like Sofia's. The only difference was that this amulet had a dark blue gem stone, where Sofia's had a lighter blue gem stone.

"I ... can't accept this" Lucinda said, being taken off guard. "It's ... too expensive".

"Consider it a welcome to the family gift. I thought you deserved something special" Roland said as he put the amulet around Lucinda's neck. "We thought this had disappeared ages ago, but a few years ago it suddently showed up. According to legend, it was made at the same time as Sofia's amulet, by the same person. It could well have the same abilities as Sofia's amulet ..."

Lucinda froze for a split second. Sofia had confided to Lucinda a year ago about what Sofia's amulet could do. But Lucinda thought it was a secret only known to the two of them. "Does King Roland know what Sofia's amulet can actually do?" Lucinda wondered.

Roland gently put his hand on Lucinda's hand. "It's okay" Roland said. "I know what Sofia's amulet can do. She confided in me about it a few months ago."

"And you didn't think she was ... crazy?" Lucinda carefully asked.

"Not at all, Lucinda". Roland gently replied. "I had heard legends about Sofia's amulet, and I was happy to find out that the legends were actually true. It would explain why my mother, when she wore it, felt so at peace. The ability to talk to animals, the ability to summon another Princess when help is needed. It's nice to know that Sofia is protected like that. And I hope your amulet gives you the same gifts, Lucinda".

"Thank you" Lucinda said as she hugged Roland.

**Chapter Three**

At supper that night, a discussion took place about what would happen in the near future.

"In two nights time, we'll have your official introduction to the royal court, Lucinda" King Roland announced. Roland could see Lucinda was a bit nervous over the prospect. "However, we'll keep it as simple as possible" Roland added. That seemed to ease Lucinda's mind.

After dinner, Lucinda returned to her room. It had been a long day, and Lucinda was still coming to terms with recent events - the death of her parents, being adopted by King Roland and Queen Miranda, and becoming a member of the royal family. It was all going a bit fast. Maybe a bit too fast.

Lucinda heard a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Lucinda asked.

"It's me - Amber. May I come in?"

"Yes, please" Lucinda answered.

A teenage Amber walked through the door. "I couldn't help but notice that you seemed to be a bit nervous over your introduction ceremony".

"Maybe a little ..." Lucinda replied.

Amber could see that Lucinda was more than a little nervous.

"Okay ... maybe more than a little" Lucinda continued.

"Thought so" Amber commented as she gently put her hand on Lucinda's shoulder. "Therefore, let me help".

"... alright" Lucinda agreed nervously.

"Don't worry" Amber said to Lucinda. "Everything will be fine". Amber stopped for a moment, then continued. "I have a confession to make ..."

"What?" Lucinda asked.

"When Sofia first became part of our family, I was bound and determined to make Sofia a proper Princess" Amber started. "However, back then, I never took into consideration that Sofia was already a proper Princess - just by being herself. I tried to change her, and that was wrong. I learned a valuable lesson from that - just being yourself is what makes you a proper Princess. And that's the most important advice I can give you, Lucinda - just be yourself. The rest will fall into place over time."

"I just don't want to let anybody down" Lucinda confessed.

"You won't" Amber said reassuringly. "As I said, the most important thing about being a Princess is being yourself ... and a nice gown doesn't hurt either".

The two looked at each other and laughed.

"You'll be just fine" Amber said while smiling at Lucinda.

After Amber had left Lucinda's room, Lucinda laid down on the bed trying to get to sleep. But so much had happened that day, and Lucinda found it hard to fall asleep. After a while, Lucinda decided to take a walk around the castle, and soon found herself out in the courtyard. As she walked around, Lucinda heard some movement nearby. As a reflex action, Lucinda pulled out her wand just to be on the safe side. Before Lucinda knew it, one of the castle guard dogs, a German Shepherd, limped out of the shadows. The dog and Lucinda looked at each other, then the dog started slowly limping again.

"Wait!" Lucinda cried out. "Your hurt!"

The dog stopped and looked back at Lucinda.

Lucinda slowly walked over near the dog. The dog slowly started to back off.

"Don t worry" Lucinda said calmly. "I just want to help if I can".

The dog seemed to understand and slowly limped over toward Lucinda.

"Oh!" Lucinda remarked. "You have a thorn in your paw. I can take care of that for you. Now hold up your paw ..."

The dog help up it's paw as Lucinda directed her wand at it. A white beam of light came from Lucinda's wand and touched the dog's paw. After a few moments, the thorn had disappeared. The dog put down it's paw and started slowly testing the paw. It was obvious that the paw had been healed.

Then, a strange thing happened. Lucinda noticed her amulet glowing. Then it went back to normal after a few moments.

"Oh! That is sooooooo much better!" a male voice said.

"Who's that?" Lucinda asked.

"It's me" the dog replied. "Thank you for fixing my paw. I am forever in your debt!"

"Oh, my!" Lucinda thought. "I can understand him. Did my amulet just give me the power to talk to animals?"

"No problem" Lucinda remarked. "My name is Lucinda. And you are?"

"Rex" the dog replied. "I'm part of the guard service here at the castle. And your the new Princess everybody is talking about!" Rex stopped for a moment, then continued. "I'm sorry to hear about your parents, Princess Lucinda".

"Thank you, Rex. And it's just Lucinda ... at least until the introduction ceremony."

"Understood ... Lucinda" Rex responded. "If you ever need anything, I am at your service. All you have to do is to call."

"Thank you, Rex"

With that, Rex went back on duty and Lucinda returned to her room. It had been a magical night. "Things just might be looking up" Lucinda thought as she climbed into bed, thinking about Amber's support, her new friend Rex ... and her amulet giving her a special gift. "Things just might be looking up".

**Chapter Four**

The next morning, Lucinda found Sofia.

"Good morning, Lucinda" Sofia cheerfully said. Sofia then noticed Lucinda's amulet. "Dad told me he had given you an amulet. Sooooo ... has it given you any special gifts?"

"Yes" Lucinda beamed. "I can talk to animals". Lucinda then went into detail about what had happened in the courtyard the night before.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Sofia responded. "Now we can both talk to animals!".

As Sofia and Lucinda walked down one of the castle hallways, they passed Cedric.

"Good morning, Mr. Cee-drick!" Sofia called out.

"Good morning, Princess" Cedric responded in a cool manner, annoyed that even as a teenager, Sofia still insisted on calling him Cee-drick, in spite of the many times he had pronounced his name Cedric to her. Cedric then looked at Lucinda.

"So, what is this?" Cedric asked as he looked at Lucinda's amulet.

"Dad gave it to Lucinda as a welcome to the family gift" Sofia answered.

"Oh! How nice!" Cedric commented.

As Sofia and Lucinda walked away, Cedric looked at the two of them. "Oh, my!" Cedric thought. "That's the Amulet of Tlara! They must have finally found it! And it's as powerful as the Amulet of Avalor! If I could swipe that, I could take over the kingdom!" Cedric then walked back to his chambers thinking about how he could get Lucinda's amulet.

In the shadows, someone was watching Cedric walk back to his chambers. It was Rex, the guard dog.

"I've never trusted that Cedric!" Rex thought to himself. "There is something a little off about that guy! And he seems to be taking too much of an interest in Lucinda's amulet! Better keep an eye on him, Rex, just to be safe!".

Cedric, entering his chambers, suddenly struck upon an idea to get Lucinda's amulet. "I'll use good old fashioned emotions against her. I'll make her leave the castle, and hand over the amulet at the same time!"

That afternoon, Lucinda was in her room. Suddenly, a puff of gray smoke appeared before her, and out of it stepped, of all people, King Gideon.

"Well, you must be the 'new' Princess?" Gideon sneered. "Amazing what they'll let become royalty now - a witch! And here I thought trolls were bad!"

Lucinda froze in shock. "What have I done to deserve this?!" Lucinda thought.

"What makes you think you'll ever be accepted as a Princess - WITCH?!" Gideon continued. "Why look at you! Your nothing! Your not wanted here! The royal court will never accept a little freak like you!"

"That's not true, Miss!" a female voice shouted. Lucinda turned around to see Violet, one of the castle chamber maids. "That's not true at all! People love you here, Miss Lucinda. They have from the first time you came to visit."

"Silence!" Gideon commanded.

"I don't know who you are?!" Violet shouted at Gideon. "But your not King Gideon! He would have had more respect for a fine young lady like Miss Lucinda!"

At that point, Sofia and Rex burst through the door. Rex started growling, while Sofia pulled out her wand.

"Lets see who you really are!" Sofia shouted as she fired her wand at Gideon.

A burst of thick white light hit Gideon. In a few moments, Gideon was gone. In his place was ... Cedric.

"Mr. Cee-drick?!" Sofia asked puzzled.

"That's Cedric! You stupid, stupid child!" Cedric snapped back.

"But ... why?" Sofia wanted to know.

"Do I actually have to paint a picture for you?!" Cedric asked in a sneering tone. "It should be obvious! I want that amulet! And since your here, I might as well take both amulets and be done with it!".

Cedric raised his wand in a threatening manner. At that point, Violet grabbed Cedric's arm, while Rex grabbed Cedric's pant leg. The three struggled until Cedric managed to throw Violet to the floor and kick Rex away.

Cedric turned back to Sofia and Lucinda, but it was already too late. Sofia and Lucinda already had their wands pointed straight at Cedric. The two girls fired their wands, and Cedric was hit by a double blast of magic energy. The blast threw Cedric against the wall, knocking him out cold in the process.

Sofia, Lucinda, Violet, and Rex all stood there in shock as some castle guards rushed into the room.

**Chapter Five**

It was now the night of the introduction ceremony. In the great hall, the royal court was gathered to meet Lucinda.

Baileywick stepped forward. "Ladies and Gentlemen! I present to you Her Royal Highness, Princess Lucinda of Enchancia!"

All eyes turned to the top of the staircase. Standing there was Lucinda, dressed in a beautiful dark blue gown, and wearing a lovely silver tiara. And around her neck was the Amulet of Tlara. Lucinda did a curtsy, and slowly walked down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Lucinda was met by Sofia, Roland, Miranda, Amber, and James.

"May I have this dance, young lady?" Roland asked Lucinda.

"Yes ... Dad" Lucinda replied.

As the two danced, they smiled at each other. Lucinda felt at home now.

The night progressed. At one point, Roland stepped forward to make an announcement as he motioned for Lucinda and Sofia to stand next to him.

"As many of you know" Roland started, "we are now in need of a new Sorcerer. And I have come to a decision about about who will fill the position."

Everybody in the great hall was all attention at this point.

"I have decided that two people will now fill the position" Roland announced. "These two people are my daughters, Lucinda and Sofia. They will now have the joint title of Official Royal Sorceresses!"

Everybody in the room clapped loudly, happy with the decision.

Sofia and Lucinda smiled at each other.

"Welcome to the family, Sis" Sofia said to Lucinda as Sofia touched Lucinda's hand. Lucinda then touched Sofia's hand. It was the best night of their lives.

A few days later, Roland took Sofia and Lucinda down to Cedric's chambers. Cedric had been removed from his position as Official Royal Sorcerer and had been taken away from the castle. Cedric's equipment and spell books, however, remained.

"This is now yours" Roland said to Sofia and Lucinda.

"Dad?" Sofia asked.

"Yes, Sofia?" Roland responded.

"Do you know what became of Mr. Cee-drick?" Sofia wanted to know.

"He was found guilty by a court of his peers of abusing his powers" Roland answered. "Apparently, the magical community takes a dim view of those who abuse their powers like Cedric did. The last thing I heard was that Cedric was being sentenced to a place called, what was it again? Oh, yes! Askaban, or something that sounded like that".

Lucinda shuttered. "I've heard of it. Not a pleasant place ..."

Sofia looked troubled. Lucinda walked over and put her hand gently on Sofia's shoulder.

"What's done is done" Roland said in a soft tone. "Now we have to move on and put this sad chapter behind us ..."

Sofia nodded sadly in agreement. After a few moments, Sofia looked around the chambers. "Let's say we get started, Lucinda".

"Sounds good to me, Sofia" Lucinda replied.

"What should we do first?" Sofia asked.

"Probably catalog what is here" Lucinda suggested.

"Sounds good" Sofia answered.

"I'll leave you two to it then" Roland remarked as he left what had been Cedric's chambers.

As the years passed, Sofia and Lucinda became two of the finest Sorceresses that ever existed. The two were honored many times for their service not only to Enchancia, but to the magical community as a whole. They both lived a full, rich life, had many adventures, and raised families of their own. But these are stories for another time ...


End file.
